Clayton's 'Playland' to Explore Apartheid, Forgiveness

's Mustard Seed Theatre is known for producing meaningful and thought-provoking plays that explore the richness of the human experience. It will stay true to form when it presents Athol Fugard's Playland, a production that explores apartheid in South Africa, from Feb. 2-12.

As is common with Fugard's work, the play is reduced to the most basic theatrical elements: A single scene, two actors and a spare set. It's also rich (some might say laden) with metaphor. The setting—a seedy amusement park—stands in for a punch-drunk Africa that is staggering from years of apartheid.

Enter the characters. A white former soldier named Gideon and a black night watchman named Martinus together represent the country's racial conflict.

Their chance meeting is set in 1989 on New Year's Eve, just weeks before F. W. de Klerk lifted the ban on the African National Congress and Nelson Mandela was released from prison. The date bristles with expectations and sophism.

Although the play is about an event that took place more than 20 years ago, director Deanna Jent finds it relevant to life today.

“At the time, the play was about the black man and the white man and what was going on in South Africa,” Jent said. “But we have soldiers coming home now, so for me it's about the issues they are dealing with.”

Both characters have killed before, and as they reveal the dark secrets of their past, we learn of Martinus' revenge on a white man who sexually assaulted the woman he loved. Gideon, meanwhile, struggles with the atrocities he encountered as a soldier in the South African Border War.

Each man is racked with guilt and haunted by his past. As Martinus puts it: “I've only killed one man in my life, but I've killed him too many times.”

While the characters share many similarities, they are separated by race and therefore have very different views about the world and about whether atonement is even possible. As their conflict rises, the story prickles with tension and explosive potential. The play becomes a powerful exploration of guilt, damnation, truth and, possibly, reconciliation.

Fugard is perhaps intimating that redemption was essential—or at least desirable—for Africa to move forward, and one wonders if Mandela could have become president without it. For Jent, the story is more simplistic: It's about two men who couldn't forgive themselves but are somehow able to provide forgiveness for each other.

“There is hope at the end,” Jent said. “I'm not sure about redemption. I do have a sense that these two men will be able to move on.”

Jent digs into a work like an archaeologist excavates a historic site. Few are more skilled at uncovering gems of truth and hidden relevance in plays, literature and events that shape our lives. She proved it last season with her production of , and this year with her original Falling, now on its way to Broadway, to name but two.

Playland will be no exception as Jent explores the emotional effects of war.

“We can see it intellectually, but we see in Playland the reality of what really happens to them,” Jent said. “The universals of the story will play more to our audience. It's not a history for us—it's the struggles of these two men.”